Returning the Favor
by Midnight's Violet Haze
Summary: Because a person's Birthday, especially Hinata's, is definitely important enough to be considered a Holiday and Sasuke's determined to help her see that, even if it's not his original purpose for being there..:Third in the Happy Holidays Series: Modern AU R


**A short tribute to Hinata's Birthday. I wasn't sure if I should include this in the :Happy Holidays Series: but it was necessary for overall plot development.**

**Hope you like it, but be warned, this decision to make this was very last minute, so it's even worse than the Christmas one... Kinda glossed over the Itachi issue since these are oneshots and are meant to be able to stand on ther own, even if they are technically a series.**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine**

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Returning the Favor

'_Maybe this isn't such a good idea…' _Sasuke Uchiha thought to himself as he stood in front of the surprisingly open cast iron gates of the Hyuuga mansion. Judging by the amount of extremely nice and extremely expensive cars that lined the block, the Hyuuga were throwing the ultimate bash for their heiress's birthday and it probably wouldn't be the smartest idea to crash it.

'_But I wouldn't have to crash it if I had been invited. Didn't she say we were friends…?' _Sasuke was starting to regret coming, not that he hadn't been trying to talk himself out of this the whole walk there.

Eyeing the rather grotesque eagle-design mailbox, Sasuke fingered the gift in his pocket. _'Maybe I could just leave it here?'_

He was promptly scolded for the cowardly idea by a voice that sounded suspiciously like Itachi.

'_He's only been here for a few days and he's already taken over my conscious, the bastard.'_

But still, like everything Itachi-related, even the voice that mirrored his brother's was right. Hinata had helped him out on Christmas Eve, had listened to his depressing story even on her favourite holiday and the least he could do was give her his present face to face and wish her a 'Happy Birthday'.

Sasuke grudgingly entered the grounds, deciding to go with a 'get-in, get-out' plan of action and get this whole ordeal over with as quickly as possible, but life never goes Sasuke's way.

There was a person sitting on the front porch, legs lying listlessly on the porch stairs emanating a bored atmosphere. This in itself was strange, seeing as most normal people invited to a Hyuuga party would be inside enjoying it, if not at least chatting up prospective business partners, but the most bizarre part of this scene was that this person that was all alone outside what might be the biggest party of the year, was the Hyuuga heiress herself, Hinata.

Sasuke stopped, debating on whether or not to run. Cue 'inner-Itachi' and an insult containing the hated phrase 'foolish little brother', prompting Sasuke to stubbornly continue until he was right in front of her, taking in her silver formal dress and oversized coat.

Hinata, not noticing Sasuke's approach, was still completely absorbed with her feet, though to her credit, Sasuke _was_ a silent-mover.

'_Why do I find even her oblivious nature__** cute**__? There __**must**__be something wrong with me…'_

"Yo," he said, nonchalantly as usual, finding it very amusing when Hinata jumped, somehow launching herself against her front door, hands stretched out as if to protect herself.

"O-Oh! It's y-you, U-Uchiha-kun," she exclaimed, dropping her hands in embarrassment. He waved casually.

"Wh-What are y-you d-doing here?" she asked, hand against her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart.

Sasuke shrugged, his 'get-in, get-out' strategy forgotten in favor of his peeked curiosity. "Heard you were having a big blow out, wanted to see what it was all about."

The corners of Hinata's pink lips tilted downwards in a slight frown, "Yes, F-Father does g-go a bit overboard with it." Her lips curled into a strained smile as she forced a chuckle, "H-He a-almost treats it l-like a n-national holiday…'

Sasuke frowned at her display of fake happiness and, without much further thought beyond _'I want to make her smile for real'_, sat down beside her.

He cut through her surprised squeak, "So how come you don't sound that happy about it?"

Eyes widening, Hinata's hand twitched, "I-I'm…grateful for it, r-really, I-I know it's F-Father's own w-way of showing a-affection, but, t-to be honest, I would m-much rather spend t-today with my family a-and friends." She let out a mirthless laugh, "You know, p-people that actually c-care that some y-years ago o-on this day I c-came into e-existence."

Sasuke furrowed his brows, "None of your friends are here?"

"N-No, j-just important business associates…I-I think I s-saw the President o-of Wind Country…"

Sasuke nodded. _'So that's how it is…none of her friends were invited'_ He hid a smile, trying to focus on helping Hinata.

"Have you ever tried telling him what you want?" he said, studying her from the corner of his eyes.

Hinata gasped, whipping around to face him, looking positively scandalized, "N-NO!"

"Why not?" he asked, leaning back onto the porch.

"W-Well, I…" Hinata trailed off, unsurely. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "He's…" she bit her lip. "S-Scary…" she whispered.

He outright laughed at this, causing her to pout cutely. "Well, you know what they say," he told her, "You should face your fears head on and all that."

Hinata's lips thinned as she nodded seriously. Sasuke sighed, throwing an arm over her shoulder with calculated ease. Forcing back the tint on his cheeks, he spoke seriously, "Hinata, you're one of the few people I respect. You've always seemed so determined and you care about people, but sometimes I think you're a little too…nice."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, glancing at him with confusion.

He let out a puff of air, watching it condense in the cold air, "What I mean is it's your birthday; you're allowed to be selfish. If you want something, don't be afraid to ask for it. Nobody's really supposed to say no to you on your birthday."

Hinata considered his words seriously. "Y-You're right, U-Uchiha-kun. I'm being…c-cowardly," Hinata admitted self-deprecatingly.

Sasuke frowned, and then ruffled her hair messily.

"S-Sasuke!" Hinata gasped, trying to swat his hand away, a few weak laughs escaping her lips.

"New rule," Sasuke said firmly, "No putting yourself down on your birthday either. Okay?"

"Okay, okay," Hinata agreed readily, sending him a very unconvincing glare when he finally let up on her hair. "You messed up my hair," she told him, mock-angrily, as she tried to fix it.

Sasuke chuckled. "Don't worry, the birthday girl is always the most beautiful girl in the room," he said, removing her hands and replacing them with his own.

Hinata flushed heavily, stiffening as he sorted out her hair. Sasuke also, froze, just realizing exactly what he was doing.

"Is…Is that a-another rule?" Hinata asked, trying to avoid an awkward moment.

Sasuke remained silent, slowly finishing sorting out her hair. When he was done, he stilled, absentmindedly fingering a lock between his fingers.

"No," he said softly, "More like a personal opinion..."

Sasuke finally moved his hands away, coughing awkwardly. _'What the hell did I just do?'_

"Well," he said, hastily getting to his feet. "I should probably go before people find out the heiress is missing her own party and your crazy cousin accuses me of kidnapping or something."

They both let out strained laughs, thinking the same thing: _'That would be funny if it wasn't true…'_

"O-Okay," Hinata said, standing up too.

He shifted nervously and then reached into his pocket, thrusting the gift out at her. "Here," he said at her questioning look, "That's the real reason I came. I wanted to say thank you, for before. And Happy Birthday."

Hinata blushed, taking the gift carefully.

Sasuke turned, prepared to make a quick exit, ignoring inner-Itachi's berating.

"W-Wait, U-Uchiha-kun," Hinata called meekly.

He turned impatiently, concentrating on keeping an unaffected mask.

Hinata smiled, a real smile, complimenting her pinked cheeks, "Thank you."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he gulped, turning back around to hide his suddenly red visage. "You're welcome," he said. "And for the record…I'm glad."

Hinata just looked confused, watching his back as he left. But then she smiled lightly, going back into her house.

'_I'm really glad that you were born'_

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**I tried to stop the cheesyness, I really did! But I couldn't resist. *siiigh***

**Sorry for the length (or lack thereof)..**

**Happy Birthday Hinata-chan and fellow Hinatards ^____^**

**Midnight's Violet Haze**

**HS**


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